Is Boston for SC stoppable?

[JellyBean]

Man. It is a joy watching Aliyah Boston play! Teams throw 3-4 bodies at her and she still racks up a double-double every game! Teams are hacking the heck out of this young lady and she keeps her poise. Gotta love that about her. Watching the game yesterday, UNC tried their best to stop this young lady and she would not be denied. So is he stoppable? Nope. You can only hope to contain her.

 

[GoUconn7961]

If you can stop the ball from getting to her then yes.

 

[Carnac]

The smartest way to beat Aliyah Boston is get her in foul trouble. Get Aliyah Boston off the floor by attacking her with your offense until she is out of the game. She's not a Cameron Brink kind-of-serial-fouler and if UConn plays Stanford they will have an easy day fouling her out of the game very early so she's not a factor.

Aliyah is more disciplined so they need to force the refs to call fouls and get her on the bench. Make her vulnerable late in games by getting her out early and making her think twice before blocking shots.

Aaliyah drew so many charges against UCF I like her odds. Dorka did as well. South Carolina is still strong but less effective when Boston has to sit.

I was waiting for someone to suggest this. Boston can’t hurt you or help her team from the bench. The more time she spends there, the better your odds are of winning. It will be interesting to see how dominant SC is the year after she graduates, and Cardoso takes over full time.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Yea...stop leaving her open on the perimeter. And stick to the game plan...the entire game. Crowd the paint and let someone else beat you. NC bit in the second half on tightly covering SC guards. Play the odds...they weren't going to keep burying 3s. Lastly...BOX OUT. You're not going to rattle Boston...so rattle another cage. If you have fast breaks...take them, otherwise, cut and move (people and the ball) until at least the last 10 seconds of the shot clock. Be patient and make them use energy on defense....even if in the end you miss or they block the shot. SC has a dominant player and then height. They're good, but IMO not dominant. In fact, no team in the field is dominant. So everyone better have their head on a swivel.

 

[Tonyc]

If UConn faces SC both teams have height. UConn has better guards. Box out and double down. Boston got to many put backs and had position underneath. UNC did not box her out and UNC was still in the game. Yeah if we meet we have a very good chance of beat SC. Alot of posts about getting Boston in foul trouble. How bout blanketing the guards so they cant get her the ball and box SC out. UConn has way to many weapons for anybody the rest of the way. Lets worry about winning the next 2 games.

I think Creighton a very good outside shooting team and very disciplined will be a hand full for SC. That will be a really good game

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I was waiting for someone to suggest this. Boston can’t hurt you or help her team from the bench. The more time she spends there, the better your odds are of winning.

I usually don't play the ref card, but unless there is some mighty collision, they aren't going to call a foul on Boston. She crashed into an NC player and Carolyn Peck commented as if it were a love tap. lol

 

[visitingcock]

I was waiting for someone to suggest this. Boston can’t hurt you or help her team from the bench. The more time she spends there, the better your odds are of winning.

But Dawn can counter by moving her out of the center by bringing in Cardosa and playing the twin towers lineup as they did against Miami.

The refs aren’t going to take the NPOY out of a championship game on Ricky tack it fouls. Make her work for every point and rebound. Limit her. Don’t worthy about “ stopping her.”

But really, the best game plan is to bring your outstanding guard play and exploit our weakness there. Do what you do best . We do not have a quality third guard and our two starters are not great. Get in Zia Cooke’s head.

 

[Carnac]

I usually don't play the ref card, but unless there is some mighty collision, they aren't going to call a foul on Boston. She crashed into an NC player and Carolyn Peck commented as if it were a love tap. lol

A good coach will make adjustments for a player that is allowed to run amuck. I hear you. As I have said before, she’s not afraid of contact and does not shy away from it on either end of the court.

She commented in an interview at the beginning of the season that she wanted to be more aggressive, she is. She can’t control how the refs call the game. She can only adjust to it.

In 3 games no one has been able to stop them. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

 

[Carnac]

But Dawn can counter by moving her out of the center by bringing in Cardosa and playing the twin towers lineup as they did against Miami.

The refs aren’t going to take the NPOY out of a championship game on Ricky tack it fouls. Make her work for every point and rebound. Limit her. Don’t worthy about “ stopping her.”

But really, the best game plan is to bring your outstanding guard play and exploit our weakness there. Do what you do best . We do not have a quality third guard and our two starters are not great. Get in Zia Cooke’s head.

Dawn is not a young coach. She knows what she’s doing, plus she has an experienced and well traveled coaching staff to help her. I doubt any team is going to do something that she is not ready for, or does not have a contingency plan for.

 

[Tonyc]

But Dawn can counter by moving her out of the center by bringing in Cardosa and playing the twin towers lineup as they did against Miami.

The refs aren’t going to take the NPOY out of a championship game on Ricky tack it fouls. Make her work for every point and rebound. Limit her. Don’t worthy about “ stopping her.”

But really, the best game plan is to bring your outstanding guard play and exploit our weakness there. Do what you do best . We do not have a quality third guard and our two starters are not great. Get in Zia Cooke’s head.

Get Henderson and Cooke in foul trouble maybe not but contain them and Boston cant win the game on her own. Again UConn has alot of weapons and depth in those weapons. Hope it comes about.

 

[Stymie]

LET’S GET THERE FIRST!
When we do: IMHO- if you think that is where the game will either be won or lost (which I don’t), make it a war of attrition. UCONN has at least 15 personals to give at the 5 spot.
Play hard nosed in the paint and let’s see how the officials call it.
My take is our guards will need to hit from the outside early, drawing the defense out, then working the offense in the space this creates
No doubt that our bigs need to step up, but at this point in the season, everyone does.

 

[#1florida]

Uconn needs to play as a team, not one. Uconn top five girls average 60 points per game, SC top five 51. Uconn top five girls average 21 rebounds per game, SC 27. But the game with SC is still a long way off. Still work to be done.

 

[Waquoit]

I was thinking about the Griner strategy when Louisville beat them...

Shoot 80% from 3?

 

[FormerCTrez]

She really has arrived this year as a truly elite player. While she still has the (very) occasional game where you think, “a bit of a down game” those have become quite rare and she is simply unstoppable in the low post. I thought she was overly lionized her first two years as her consistency and her averages were not high enough to be considered truly elite, but she has really stepped it up and is now the most consistently dominant player in the country. Sob! If only…

She is a junior now, and her growth and maturity has shown. And that’s the kind of development you want to see. I’m happy for her.

 

[schmendrick]

ONE GAME AT A TIME.

 

[Pharos]

Watching SC against NC (and I'm not a BB x and o's guy) Boston was on the right block and waited until one of the SC guards came to Boston's defender to set a pick and then went around the pick to shoot an easy layup. I think this is the kind of stuff UConn or any opponent has to be able to answer. One part is to work the refs to be looking for moving picks in that low. Normally, that close to the basket, the refs don't look too closely. But a moving pick is a moving pick.

 

[browns]

Shoot 80% from 3?

That and just beat up on her like they did to Griner and hope the refs let things go

 

[browns]

No she's not unstopable..going to get hers but that is such a long long way off if it even happens..Remember Stanford was up 16 with 3:29 left in the first half against SC and lost by 4..so if Uconn beats IU and IF they beat NCState they would probably have to beat Stanford to get to SC..thats a lot to ask.. If they do get there even though the stats don't show it Liv actually played well against Boston..she can play her one on one and our guards should be able to outplay SC guards rather easily..shoot well and they can win..Boston will get her double double but she can't beat you by herself

 

[Carnac]

Wrong board???

Technically the OP’s query about Boston should have been posted in the “general “ section. The mods continuously remind us that this board is for news and comments related to UConn WBB only.

Whether Boston is stoppable or not has nothing to do with UConn until SC is their next opponent.

 

[oldhusky]

Probably would still be pretty good IMO considering they have Cardoso off the bench, plus Amihere/Feagin as backups. I think UCONN would have adjusted to losing Paige better if they didn't constantly have other players missing on random nights. It led to player roles constantly changing and prevented chemistry from developing, or a rotation being established. If SC lost Boston for the bulk of the year, plus had scattered games where Beal, Cooke and Henderson were out, then it would've been messier.

Agree, I think they would be good without Boston. Remember Cardosa is a star herself, put up huge numbers at Syracuse and would be in the conversation for best C of her class, probably just behind Brink. Amihere and Feagin are way above average too. SC probably has the best starting C and the best backup C in the country.

Obviously limiting the probable player of the year is important, but beating their bigs is not a very realistic goal for their opponents. Beating their wings and guards is. In our case hanging in their with their bigs and not getting in foul trouble would be key factors. Boston's style of play gets opposing bigs in foul trouble all the time. They have 5 very good ones we have 3, and two of ours Liv and Aaliyah are foul prone, Dorka not so much. We have little room for error with our 3 big rotation. Maybe we could go small ball against some teams for part of the game, but SC is not one of those teams.

On the other hand we are better and deeper on the perimeter, just the opposite of the situation with the bigs, so that is our strength and edge.

 

[visitingcock]

She really has arrived this year as a truly elite player. While she still has the (very) occasional game where you think, “a bit of a down game” those have become quite rare and she is simply unstoppable in the low post. I thought she was overly lionized her first two years as her consistency and her averages were not high enough to be considered truly elite, but she has really stepped it up and is now the most consistently dominant player in the country. Sob! If only…

I don’t think she was overlionized as a freshman when she was THE post player who posted a 30-1 record while beating Baylor, UConn, Maryland, Miss State x 2 and a number of other ranked teams. She was everything and more that you could want from a freshman.

However, she showed little improvement as a sophomore. ( organized, Off-season training was limited by Covid)

She hit the conditioning hard after her sophomore season and it shows. Shedding pounds and converting baby fat to muscle allows her to run the court better and to play as hard in the fourth quarter as the first. She also plays smarter.

 

[Happydad745]

Boston is the key to S.C. defense...she posts up really well, blocks out other rebounders and puts up the bunnies without much variation.

 

[housekeys]

There are a few things that can stop Boston and SC, but it all depends on how well the strategy is implemented. In other words, all of the strategies come with the "easier said than done" firmly prepended.

In general, you want to get Boston further away from the basket as possible. Obviously getting her in foul trouble will do the trick. A lot depends on the refs, so unless bribing them is part of the plan, I would not count on it.

The strategy most in our control is to simply have UConn's ONO and AE knock down outside shots. This certainly limits Boston's defensive rebounds. But the problem is not the defensive rebounds she gets, but rather, the offensive rebounds

SC wins games because they always have more shot attempts than their opponent. If they do not have this advantage, they will likely lose any shooting contest against good offensive teams (like UConn). To limit their attempts, a team must prevent second chance attempts (i.e. offensive rebounds) and turnovers. Turnovers are critical, but another thing that is under UConn's control, though SC will have something to say about that.

To limit offensive rebounds from Boston, you can "try" a box and one, with the "one" instructed not to leave the paint area under the basket and mainly stay between Boston and the rim. The other four players must put enough pressure on the perimeter to force Boston to come out and set picks in order to free up the SC guards. You hope that SC's guards have a hard time getting shots off. If Dawn decides to "just launch the shots" and keep Boston down low to clean up the mess, well then it is just a matter of how well we box out.

Double teaming Boston and "make other's beat you" is another strategy, which I consider a last ditch effort, and personally do not like. But what do I know?

Easier said than done because Boston is very good, so are SC's guards and their coach. Much better than some here give them credit for.

PS. For those who dread the mention of UConn, as we are counting the eggs before the chickens (or something like that), just substitute Creighton, or another opponent, if that makes you feel better.

 

[GoChips20]

Agree, I think they would be good without Boston. Remember Cardosa is a star herself, put up huge numbers at Syracuse and would be in the conversation for best C of her class, probably just behind Brink. Amihere and Feagin are way above average too. SC probably has the best starting C and the best backup C in the country.

Obviously limiting the probable player of the year is important, but beating their bigs is not a very realistic goal for their opponents. Beating their wings and guards is. In our case hanging in their with their bigs and not getting in foul trouble would be key factors. Boston's style of play gets opposing bigs in foul trouble all the time. They have 5 very good ones we have 3, and two of ours Liv and Aaliyah are foul prone, Dorka not so much. We have little room for error with our 3 big rotation. Maybe we could go small ball against some teams for part of the game, but SC is not one of those teams.

On the other hand we are better and deeper on the perimeter, just the opposite of the situation with the bigs, so that is our strength and edge.

I’m the worst about picking out minutiae in posts about broader topics, but I appreciate the mention of Brink as the best C in that class. Brink has NPOY potential IMO; she looked fantastic last night and is one of the more underrated players nationally given her gaudy high school ranking and relatively limited media coverage.

 

[visitingcock]

I’m the worst about picking out minutiae in posts about broader topics, but I appreciate the mention of Brink as the best C in that class. Brink has NPOY potential IMO; she looked fantastic last night and is one of the more underrated players nationally given her gaudy high school ranking and relatively limited media coverage.

She just spends too much time on the bench. When she is in the game, she is a force. As to media coverage - blame Larry Scott.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

Why is everyone so concerned about South Carolina???? They have not looked good recently. From the SEC Tourney to the game the other day they look beatable. The team that worries me is Stanford. Why is no one talk about Stanford?

 

[GoChips20]

Why is everyone so concerned about South Carolina???? They have not looked good recently. From the SEC Tourney to the game the other day they look beatable. The team that worries me is Stanford. Why is no one talk about Stanford?

I think it's because when you are #1, you are #1 until someone knocks you off, and despite the aesthetics that hasn't happened to SC. We don't always (or often) play beautiful basketball, but our rebounding and defense give us a chance to win every time we take the floor.

That's not the same as saying we are unbeatable. Certainly any team remaining is capable of knocking us out. I think there are probably folks within each fanbase of the top programs (SC, Stanford, UConn, etc.) that embody the sentiment their teams are the best and it would take a miracle to knock them off; I do think most SC fans, myself included, are very much aware of our mortality as a team and are taking no game for granted.

FWIW, I do agree Stanford looks exceptional and should be receiving more buzz.

 

[Conndog]

. UCONN has at least 15 personals to give at the 5 spot.

No, do you really want to put Boston on the line so much? She’s a very good FT shooter. Although she shouldn’t be able to get offensive rebounds from the line, I suppose.

 

[visitingcock]

Why is everyone so concerned about South Carolina???? They have not looked good recently. From the SEC Tourney to the game the other day they look beatable. The team that worries me is Stanford. Why is no one talk about Stanford?

Why do so few UConn fans give any respect to NC State?

 

[Waquoit]

Why do so few UConn fans give any respect to NC State?

For what?